1st: CityArts, downtownartsdistrict.com
2nd: College Park Gallery, collegeparkgallery.com
3rd: Jeanine Taylor Folk Art, jtfolkart.com
1st: Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, orlandofringe.org
2nd: Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, wpsaf.org
3rd: Immerse, immersefest.org
1st: Dancers Royale, dancers-royale.com
2nd: Rachel's North Men's Club and Steakhouse, rachelscasselberry.com
3rd: Thee Dollhouse Orlando, theeoriginaldollhouse.com
1st: Les Vixens Burlesque, lesvixens.com
2nd: Bad Witch Burlesque, badwitchburlesque.com
3rd: Corsets and Cuties, corsetsandcuties.com
1st: SAK Comedy Lab, sakcomedylab.com
The decades roll on and SAK never lets up. The improv theater is nothing if not a reliable place to catch some laughs — and the interactive nature of the make-it-up-as-you-go skits and sketches guarantees surprises every time.
2nd: Improv Orlando, theimprovorlando.com
3rd: Bull & Bush, bullandbushorlando.com
1st (tie): Shit Sandwich, Bull & Bush, bullandbushorlando.com
1st (tie): Teachers Night at the Improv, theimprovorlando.com
2nd (tie): Bull & Bush Underground Comedy Show! Wednesdays, bullandbushorlando.com
2nd (tie): Open Mic at The Falcon, thefalconbar.com
3rd: Open Mic at Game On Avalon, gameonavalon.com/open-mic-night
1st: Orlando Ballet, orlandoballet.org
2nd: Phantasmagoria, phantasmagoriaorlando.com
3rd: Varietease, bluelalaevents.com
1st: Drag Bingo at Hamburger Mary's, hamburgermarys.com/orlando
2nd: Southern Nights, facebook.com/southernnightsorlando
3rd: Off the Record Wednesdays, facebook.com/otrwednesdays
1st: Florida Film Festival, floridafilmfestival.com
2nd: Orlando Film Festival, offvirtual.com
3rd: Love Your Shorts Film Festival, loveyourshorts.com
1st: Drag Queen Story Hour at The Center, thecenterorlando.org
As Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis keeps busy banning books teaching basic history and issuing hateful political directives in our schools, Orlandoans are embracing both our right to read whatever we want and the fabulous art of drag. Drag Queen Story Hour at the Center is Orlando Weekly readers' pick for best literary reading series, and with good reason. The family-friendly series features local storytellers who use the art of drag to read books to kids, encouraging a love of reading along with body positivity, loving ourselves, and treating each other with kindness. Locally, the event first happened at the Orlando Public Library, earning them a Writers' Pick in 2017; most recently, The Center hosted Gidget Galore reading storybooks around Christmastime. Here's hoping our readers' support encourages a resurgence of this local celebration of imagination.
2nd: Orlando Story Club, downtownartsdistrict.com/orlando-story-club
3rd: African-American Read-In at OCLS, ocls.info/african-american-read
